Shaper of Fate
by KazraGirl
Summary: The Fellowship of the Ring. Destined to destroy the Ring, and save Middle Earth. But are they? There are those who would try and prevent this, and only one can save Middle Earth from the changes that should not happen.
1. The mission is accepted and her task beg...

(( The only characters in this story that belong to me are Zaranda, and any member of the Dark Council that should turn up. All the others are the property of JRR Tolkien. This story was originally written as 'Historys Ghost', but after re-reading it I decided that it needed to be reworked. This is the result. Thank you! ))  
  
Zaranda stood proud on the cliff, her black hair streaming out behind her like a banner. Her green eyes burned with fire as the spray from the wind tossed sea below drifted over her.  
  
Power coursed through her veins as she accepted her mission on this world. She could feel the greasy presence of the Dark Council already at work, spinning their webs that would change the course of destiny. That was what she was here to prevent.  
  
"I must start a web of my own, that reaches from Mordor to Gondor, from Rohan to Lorien, from Moria to the Shire. All lives along its strands will play a part in the future.  
  
Hear this Crevadi!" and her voice, which had been a whisper, rang out. "You will fail in your mission here, as you have in so many places and times before. I will not let you take this world into darkness. I have the power to defy you, and the ones that you have corrupted for you own ends. I do not fear you."  
  
Her voice quietened again. "But I must not interfere with what will be, no matter how much it aches my heart. For all is linked into one everlasting thread."  
  
She fell silent again, before she raised her hands. In the gap between one breath of wind and the next, she vanished.  
  
She reappeared in the centre of a busy village, hair falling neatly around her shoulders. She made a peculiar gesture with one hand, and the startled expression of the inhabitants faded away to unconcern as her sudden appearance faded from their minds. She glanced around to gain her bearings. The information that had been implanted into her mind when she accepted the mission filtered through.  
  
She was standing in the centre of the village of Hobbiton, as the hobbits went about their business. Despite her presence in their midst, their eyes skidded away from her form, and an area around her was never entered.  
  
A peculiar singing in her bones alerted her to the fact that one of the key people in this destiny was near. She turned, and heard the noise grow to a crescendo. The face that met her eyes was instantly recognised.  
  
"Samwise Gamgee." She murmured, a smile flickering across her face. "This is a fortunate encounter. You are the first strand to be added, and through you, the others will be brought into the weave."  
  
Zaranda turned her palms face upwards and closed her eyes. A thin silver network of strands emerged from her fingertips and wove in bewitching patterns around Sam. Then branches spread out and soared of into the blue sky as Zaranda extended her web, feeling the life force of the key characters pulsing along the threads that bound them to her, and her to them.  
  
She felt their different tones add to the music of fate that rang in her mind, signifying that the linkage was complete. Any tremors in her web, and distortions in the music, would signify that something was not right.  
  
Samwise walked on, oblivious of the events taking place around him. Zaranda nodded, and relaxed slightly. Then a tremor along one of her webs strands drew her attention, and she stiffened, before sending her mind out in a probe.  
  
"Gandalf the Grey, right on time." She laughed as she relaxed, before she willed herself away. She should probably be there to make sure that nothing untoward happened.  
  
She materialised close to a bank, out of the way of the main track that Gandalf was due to come down, and away from the area where hobbits would leap from.  
  
"The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began." she heard the deep voice singing.  
  
She concentrated, and wove her spell of nothingness more tightly around her. She knew that Istari could not see through the spells she wove, but it was better to be careful than to risk exposing herself to those she had to aid.  
  
"You're late." Frodo's voice spoke, and her bones hummed with the power of his presence. "A wizard is never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."  
  
Zaranda nodded. So far so good. Making sure that Frodo and Gandalf were occupied in their laughter, she climbed onto the back of the cart, making herself comfortable amongst the fireworks.  
  
The cart rumbled into movement again as the greetings were over and done with. Zaranda kept one ear on the conversation, and let her mind run through the path that the future should take, looking for the places where the Dark Council could try to alter the course of destiny.  
  
"What news of the outside world? Tell me everything." Frodo requested.  
  
"Everything? Far to eager and curious for a hobbit. Most unnatural." Gandalf chided, the light of mischief in his eyes.  
  
As he began to tell Frodo of the events that had occurred since his last visit, Zaranda gently and carefully reached into the Istari's mind and lifted the information about, both what he said, and what he didn't say. As the cart rumbled onwards, she sifted through it, looking for distortions.  
  
What she found alarmed her. Nothing had been altered. The fabric of the world was as it should have been. The Dark Council had not altered anything. This was more worrying than if they had changed something.  
  
"What are they planning?" she breathed, careful not to let the other occupants of the cart know that she was there.  
  
The thought occupied her mind so much that she only vaguely registered the fact that Frodo had left the cart, and Gandalf was entering Bag End.  
  
Trusting to her web to let her know if something should go wrong, she concentrated, and vanished, heading to the places where she thought she would find answers to her own questions. 


	2. The first moves by the Dark Council

The fields rippled green as the wind caressed their blades, forming a knee- high sea. The eored were breaking camp in the dawn of the new day.  
  
Unnoticed by the Rohirrim, Zaranda slipped away from their camp, passing by the horses unnoticed. The incident with the orcs had been sorted, and the kink in destiny had been smoothed away.  
  
She stepped away, far enough away so that her disappearance would not cause ripples that would cause the Rohirrim to notice that someone had been there. She cast her mind out along the silken strands of her web, checking that all was as it should be. Once she satisfied herself that all was well, she focused her attention on the Ringbearer.  
  
For a moment, her vision spun and her hearing dimmed as her mind slid into his. Her vision returned as she saw through his eyes and heard through his ears.  
  
Torches and lanterns lighted the area. Hobbits sat everywhere, all were replete with the good meal they had enjoyed, and were waiting for Bilbo's speech to finish so that they could continue enjoying themselves.  
  
Frodo fidgeted, and Zaranda became aware that her presence in his mind was causing him discomfort. She withdrew her mind, before she concentrated and shifted herself from the grass of the Riddermark, to the shadow of a pavilion.  
  
"My dear Bagginses and Boffins," the elderly hobbit perched atop a barrel declared. "Tooks and Brandybucks, Grubbs, Chubbs, Bolgers, Hornblowers, Bracegirdles, and Proudfoots." "Proudfeet!" one of the hobbits in the audience contradicted to a wave of laughter and a flap of the hand from Bilbo.  
  
While the rest of the farewell speech went on, Zaranda looked around for key characters. Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck were there, as was Gandalf the Grey, and Samwise Gamgee.  
  
"I bid you all a very fond farewell. Goodbye." Bilbo spoke his final words, before he slipped the Ring on his finger and vanished into the shadow world.  
  
Zaranda blinked and shifted the perspective of her eyes and watched as Bilbo made his departure as the uproar of the hobbits filled the field.  
  
Zaranda quietly slipped away from the pavilion and moved, ghost like, up to Bag End.  
  
The shut door posed no problem to her and she stepped through it like it was smoke, and into the hobbithole. Rather than reform into a solid form and risk banging into anything that would alert them to her presence, she remained discorporate and simply drifted through any obstructions.  
  
"Did you see their faces?" she heard Bilbo laugh.  
  
"There are many magic rings in this world, and none of them should be used lightly." Gandalf chided seriously.  
  
"I suppose you're right, as usual." Bilbo tried to sound serious, but the mirth in his voice gave him away.  
  
Zaranda slid into the main room, and blinked in surprise as Gandalf passed straight through her.  
  
"Unnerving." She noted in a voice that sounded like a faint breeze.  
  
"Two eyes, as often as I can spare them." Gandalf said in reference to Frodo, jolting Zaranda out of her thoughts.  
  
As the conversation progressed, Zaranda watched with professional interest as Gandalf appeared to grow in stature, and the room behind him darkened.  
  
Then as she scanned the paths of the future she realised the problem that Bilbo was about to face. She leant back against the wall, and let her consciousness drift out of her body.  
  
As Bilbo headed for the door to be reminded that the Ring was still in his pocket, she slipped her mind behind his own and began to whisper encouragement to him.  
  
Bilbo Baggins stood there, his outstretched hand trembling as the Ring on his palm warred against his instincts. But Zaranda was also there, adding her power to Bilbo's will power.  
  
Bilbo's hand shook as it tilted. The Ring almost seemed to hang onto his skin, but finally relinquished its grip and fell to the floor. Bilbo stepped over the threshold and took a deep breath of the cool night air.  
  
Zaranda braced herself as Gandalf stepped through her, but maintained her link with Bilbo's mind to monitor him to make sure that no backlash from giving up the Ring affected him.  
  
With another part of her mind, she checked on Frodo, and smiled to see that he was busy calming the guests.  
  
Then a faint thrumming on the strands of her web drew her attention to something that was out of sync with the rest of the world. She focused on the area, and shifted herself in space and time, emerging in Rivendell.  
  
Her eyes did not take in the beauty of her surroundings, or notice the elves that passed through her wraith-like form. All her attention was focused on one elf that stood there talking to Lord Elrond HalfElven.  
  
"My name is Sullion, my lord."  
  
Lord Elrond frowned. Sullion make a tiny flicking motion with his hand, and Elrond's frown changed to pleased smile.  
  
"I am honoured that you have offered to guard my daughter Sullion, and I gratefully accept your offer." Elrond spoke, and Zaranda cursed under her breath.  
  
Dark Council. This did not bode well. But how could she remove this knot in destiny from the strands that surrounded it?  
  
She closed her eyes, and gently extended her thoughts, probing the defences of the Dark Council Member that stood smiling at Elrond. Sickening images of the horrors he had seen, and committed washed through her mind, but she pushed them aside, searching for a hint of his plans.  
  
Sullion's head came up sharply, and his eyes darted around him. Zaranda froze where she was, halting her probing mind.  
  
"Does something disturb you Sullion?" Elrond asked.  
  
"Just thought I saw a familiar face." Sullion lied. Zaranda knew that he has sensed her. But not before she had found out what she needed to know. And in his plan lay the seeds of his downfall. 


	3. Defense and attack

(( The only characters in this story that belong to me are Zaranda, and any member of the Dark Council that should turn up. All the others are the property of JRR Tolkien. This story was originally written as 'Historys Ghost', but after re-reading it I decided that it needed to be reworked. This is the result. Thank you! ))  
  
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Zaranda waited among the shadow, watching. Arwen sat on the edge of her bed, embroidery hoop in hand, needle flashing deftly. The wrongness of the situation grated across Zaranda's senses, making her shudder with the discord. But she pushed the pain to the back of her mind.  
  
Both women's eyes flicked to the door as a note was pushed under it. Arwen rose, but Zaranda was quicker.  
  
She reached out with her mind and scanned the note, growling mentally before combusting the paper. Arwen recoiled and Zaranda glided out of the shadows.  
  
With a whispered word, Arwen was frozen in paralysis, eyes wide in shock. Zaranda could read in the depths of her eyes Arwens thoughts and realised that her original plan would not work. She reached out with a pale hand and brushed Arwen's brow.  
  
Arwen wilted, collapsing to the floor, but before she could land a cushion of air caught her and gently bore her to the bed.  
  
Zaranda moved across to the door, placing her hands flat against the wooden panels and extending her awareness. She wove a spell deep in the wood, to be activated when someone tried to open the door, to prevent them entering, but to think that it was their own idea.  
  
She withdrew her mind, before looking at Arwen. Then as Zaranda stood there, her form changed, till a duplicate Arwen stood there.  
  
"And now I go to deal with Sullion." The duplicate murmured in Arwen's voice, before gliding out of the room.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Sullion stood facing a waterfall, its spray dappling his hair with diamond droplets. Arwen/Zaranda stepped into the clearing, slipper clad feet making no sound, but Sullion still heard her and turned, smiling a welcome.  
  
Zaranda could clearly see the glamour he had woven about himself to entrance Arwen and draw her away from Aragorn.  
  
"I cannot remain long before I am missed my love, but I had to see you before I depart." Sullion began.  
  
"But you are mistaken Sullion." Zaranda spoke, maintaining her guise of Arwen. "For you never arrived here in Rivendell, or volunteered to guard me. In fact, to this world, you never existed."  
  
Sullions's elven expression changed from welcome to confusion as Zaranda spoke. Then Zaranda let her disguise fall, and in the same instant, while Sullions was staring with dismay at her suddenly revealed form, she struck. Her power was concentrated into one fine beam, and ripped into his mind, distorting his thoughts and blocking off his own power before he had a chance to use it against her.  
  
Sullion staggered before he collapsed to the grassy sward, one hand dangling in the waterfalls pool. Zaranda knelt beside him, reinforcing the blocking on his mind. She sealed off his magic and altered his memories. Now he would remember nothing of his magical past, or the events that he tried to bring into motion. He, now a simple Elf of Mirkwood, would only know what she wanted him to know.  
  
As she dealt with him and transported him to the woods that were now his home, she felt the world snap back into its rightful place. She sighed with relief as the pain abated in her skull. She rose, and task here completed, focused on the other major events unfolding. Zaranda reached out through her web, checking on the key characters. She winced as the echoes of hoof beats drummed along the strands of her cobweb. The Nazgul were abroad. She noted their location and smiled to see that they were on schedule. She briefly focused her eyes on the area the Nazgul were riding through, and blistered the air around her with curses. For where there should have been nine, there were ten. This was not good.  
  
But she could not spare the time now to deal with them, for she had to make sure that Gandalf's role was seen through. She shifted herself along her lines and reappeared in Orthanc, in a corner of Saruman's study.  
  
She solidified and let herself become visible, as there was no-one present in the room. She briefly took control of the mind of one of the birds that were circling the tower and checked on the progress of Saruman and Gandalf.  
  
Then she actually took stock of her surroundings and began to browse through some of the documents lying around.  
  
She heard the pair approaching the study and quickly shifted once more to a gaseous and invisible form, drifting to an out of the way corner.  
  
She identified Gandalf and Saruman, but only partly focused on their words, instead concentrating on keeping a calm mind.  
  
Her alignment was to the side of god, and that was the side that she constantly felt the urge to aid. But for the timeline to stay the same, she must not interfere, although it cut her to the bone.  
  
"I have seen it." Saruman spoke, and his eyes turned to the covered globe at the centre of the room that adjoined his study.  
  
"A palantir is a dangerous tool Saruman." Gandalf said as they began to move towards it, Zaranda following silently behind.  
  
"Why? Why should we fear to use it?" Saruman said as he pulled the silk cover off. A midnight blue orb was revealed, gleaming in the light that filtered into the room.  
  
Zaranda drifted over and her green eyes stared into its depths. A flicker of red appeared deep in its heart, and Zaranda reached out one transparent hand to brush the orb.  
  
"They are not all accounted for, the lost seeing stones. We do not know who else may be watching." Gandalf said, taking the cloth from Saruman's hand and once more covering the stone.  
  
Zaranda blinked as her eyes contact was broken and stepped backwards till she was out of the way of the two Istari. She was dismayed with the speed with which the palantir had held her mind, and resolved to be more cautious.  
  
As Gandalf became fully aware of the treachery of Saruman, Zaranda stood in the corner of the room in the shadow of Saruman's throne as she watched the two duel, something that she must not intervene in. A solitary tear trickled down her face as she closed her eyes to the sight before her. She could do nothing. 


End file.
